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Digital facsimile

A facsimile is a replica of a manuscript or (old) print. It is a (photo)copy that is intended to be the closest possible representation of the original. A digital facsimile is a copy that has been converted into a digital image file. The quality of the digital image is determined by the file format (such as gif, tiff or jpeg) and its resolution.

The main use of (digital) facsimiles is to make rare and vulnerable texts accessible for research, irrespective of their location. It also allows an optimal presentation of texts that include pictures, emblemata, typographical details, etc. A disadvantage of digital facsimiles is that digital images of texts cannot be searched or processed further. This is sometimes resolved by adding an index of keywords to the file or by linking a transcript to the images of the text (see below).

Facsimiles included in a digital archive are usually supplemented with descriptive information (so-called metadata), which improves their accessibility in multiple ways. See, for example, the Women's Travel Diaries mentioned below. Note: The nature and extent of this metadata can differ greatly for each archive.

Digital facsimiles are sometimes combined with a transcript, which enhances the legibility of manuscripts and old prints for non-specialist readers and makes the text more easily searchable. Facsimiles and e-texts can be linked at various levels, but they are typically linked on a page-by-page basis. A disadvantage of this type of presentation is that it is often difficult to download the transcript as a whole as an e-text for further analysis on the researcher's own computer.

Caxton's Canterbury Tales: The British Library Copies. Page-by-page link. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Examples:

• Erasmus, Lof der Zotheid- Erasmus Collection, Treasure chambers of Rotterdam Library.
  
• P.C. Hooft, Emblemata amatoria (1611) - Ursicula (Stichting A D & L and Ceneton).
• Caxton's Canterbury Tales: The Prologue -British Library.
• Paul van Ostaijen,Bezette Stad. Illustrated with five wood cuts by Oskar Jacobs. Antwerp: Sienjaal, 1921 - International Dada Archive.
• Magna Carta - British Library.
• Women's Travel Diaries - Duke University. Travel journals by women from the 19^th and 20^th century. Published by author, year, location, title, subject, and type.
• Frankenstein - combination of digital facsimiles of all known original manuscripts of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with page-by-page links combined with online transcripts, which can be read line-by-line and searched on word level.

See also the Links to selected digital facsimile sites page of the British Library.

Other topics in this section: Introduction   E-text   Enhanced e-text   Critical edition   E-books and audiobooks